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Photo courtesy of Raoul Verolleman
Kenny was heard during the test transmissions for Radio London but his first real show was 6-9pm on Christmas Eve 1964. He quickly made that time-slot his own.
Kenny on his 6-9pm show, 17th June 1965 (duration 3 minutes 28 seconds)
Radio London was based on the format of KLIF in Dallas. One of that station's most popular shows was presented by two guys, Charlie and Harrigan. Kenny and his colleague
Dave Cash were keen to try a similarly double-headed show on Big L. The Kenny & Cash programme was an immediate success. Although fondly remembered, it only ran for six
short months, from April to October 1965.
Kenny & Cash from 2nd September 1965 (duration 3 minutes 19 seconds)
Kenny & Cash. Photo courtesy of John Lait. See more of his photos here.
With the success of the Kenny & Cash programme, the DJ shift patterns were altered to keep the two together as much as possible. They made public appearances and
wrote a weekly column for Music Echo magazine. This cutting is from Hans Knot's ‘Historie van Radio London’. Click on it to see the whole article.
Kenny was not only a talented broadcaster, he also created some of the best “promos” (in house promotional adverts) on offshore radio:
Letters From Our Listeners (duration 47 seconds)
Photo from ‘Who's Who In Pop Radio’ published by New English Library
A station promo (duration 57 seconds) and if you always wondered what the “chinese proverbian” was actually saying, you may be surprised
Kenny backwards (duration 4 seconds)
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Photo from ‘Beatwave’ magazine
In the days before “varispeed” technology Kenny would often dismantle the equipment and go to enormous lengths to get the effects he was after:
Radio London T-shirt promo (duration 35 seconds)
And on the same subject:
Lace-trimmed thigh caresser with matching what? (duration 40 seconds)
Photo from ‘Offshore Radio’ published by Iceni Enterprises
Even at this early stage in Kenny's career, one can hear some of the characters developing that would later appear on his TV shows:
Tony Windsor promo (duration 35 seconds)
Photo from ‘Who's Who In Pop Radio’ published by New English Library
In November 1965 Kenny was fired from Radio London. Despite being hugely popular, he had consistently made fun of The World Tomorrow, the evangelical programme scheduled in his
show. However his voice returned to the station a few months later on a programme sponsored by a fizzy drink manufacturer:
Kenny Everett introducing Top Deck Time in May 1966 (duration 4 minutes 40 seconds)
Photo from ‘Beatwave’ magazine
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Kenny was allowed to return to Radio London full-time in June 1966 after promising to behave himself.
Kenny on his 6-9pm show, 1st August 1966 (duration 2 minutes 59 seconds)
Kenny Everett sitting in for Mike Lennox on Radio London's Breakfast Show, 2nd August 1966.
Photo courtesy of George Morris
In August 1966 Kenny was invited to join The Beatles on their final concert tour of America. He sent back daily phone reports on their progress. (More details
here.)
Kenny Everett reporting on the Beatles tour of America (duration 3 minutes 30 seconds)
Photo provided by Mitch Philistin. See more of his photos here.
Kenny on the afternoon of 4th February 1967, the day after having the exclusive first ever play of The Beatles' Strawberry Fields Forever
(duration 2 minute 37 seconds)
Although a fantastic disc-jockey, his news reading skills left something to be desired and it was rare for him to be called upon to read a bulletin:
Kenny reading a news bulletin from 25th February 1967 (duration 1 minute)
Photo provided by Hans Knot.
Kenny on Radio London from Sunday 19th March 1967 (duration 3 minutes 49 seconds)
In May 1967 Kenny moved to the BBC and joined former Radio London colleagues Chris Denning and Duncan Johnson on the
Light Programme's Where It's At. Despite now working for “the Beeb”, as he called it, Kenny recorded a farewell message to be played during Radio London's final hour:
Kenny's final words on Radio London, 14th August 1967 (duration 2 minutes 2 seconds)
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